Mint | Private sector participation in LVM3 production could mean a space sector boom

In a recent keynote address at a US- India Business Council event, the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), S. Somnath, spoke about the retirement of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Space Shuttle programme in 2011. For three decades, the Space Shuttle had ferried astronauts and satellites, even aided in building the International Space Station (ISS).  Read the full article here.

Times of India | In final frontier, 4 is the first number

For the first time in 40 years, a small group of Indians is set to venture into the perilous and untamed wilderness that lies beyond our atmosphere. Yesterday, Modi feted four test pilots – Prasanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap and Shubhanshu Shukla – who are to become the first Indians in outer space since Rakesh Sharma’s historic journey on Soyuz T-11 in 1984.

Unveiling the fab four | Yesterday’s event was a ceremonial milestone for the ambitious Gaganyaan programme, which aims to make India one of only four countries that can independently carry out human spaceflight. Read the full article here.

Hindustan Times | Chandrayaan will help us profit from the heavens

After Chandrayaan-3’s success, India’s goal is to not only build on Isro’s extraordinary achievement but also to harness popular enthusiasm for space exploration towards concrete outcomes for the country’s high-technology economy. Unlike the IT and biotech sectors, space remains a State-led industry. Governments such as those of the United States have deep pockets and can act as anchor customers until segments of the space sector stabilise and become self-sustaining. Most government and private funding is directed to practical space applications such as satellites that provide immediate returns on investment. Military requirements are a primary driver of satellite infrastructure as are other State-led requirements such as monitoring weather patterns and ecological degradation. All this needs cutting-edge innovation that only space exploration can drive. Read the full article here.

Times of India | Why India must now prepare for lunar geopolitics as well

The successful Chandrayaan-3 mission not only marks India’s ascension to a tiny club of lunar states, it also marks the first time humans have conducted a controlled landing in the southern polar region of the Moon. Read the full article here.

How Should India Respond to the US' Unilateral ASAT Test Ban?

The United States (US) has pledged to stop conducting destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) testing in space. During the announcement made on 18 April, US vice-president Kamala Harris called on other nations to follow suit in hopes to induce the norm of responsible behaviour in space and mitigating the problem of space debris. To date, China, India, Russia, and the US have been the only countries that have demonstrated debris-creating ASAT capabilities. While the ban is to mitigate the risk of space debris, it neither guarantees the redressal of an arms race in space, nor does it signal the onset of international norms against ASAT testing. Here is how India should respond.

The Role of Space in the Russia-Ukraine War

An escalation in space could cost more Ukrainian lives and leave Russian forces blind

The Russian special military operation launched against Ukraine is raging. Much of the action by forces on both sides is observable on land, in the air, amritime and cyber domains. curiously few – if any- details are emerging about the role of outer space in the conflict.

India Needs A Comprehensive Space Strategy

It will not only bolster inter-organisation coordination in India’s space sector, but also help in building investor confidence and projecting the country as a responsible space power

India’s growth and prosperity in the present era is due to its ability to secure its use of outer space. With the advent of the second space age, private NewSpace companies such as SpaceX are leading the charge, and not governmental civilian space agencies or militaries. However, as outlined in the Outer Space Treaty (OST), the existing international laws hold nation-states responsible for the actions and consequences of their private space companies, citizens, and functionaries.